Mounting plate for quick attachment bracket and bucket construction

ABSTRACT

A bucket for a prime mover such as a skid steer loader has a mounting plate on its rear wall that is used for coupling to an attachment bracket on the prime mover or loader. The mounting plate is a unitary plate has a unitarily formed upper channel extending transversely across the bucket at an upper end of the mounting plate, and a unitarily formed second channel extending transversely across the bucket at the mounting plate lower end. The upper channel has a pair of apertures that are of size to receive latch ends of an attachment bracket and have edges that provide for alignment of the mounting plate and the bucket to which it is attached relative to the attachment bracket. The lower channel has apertures to receive vertically moveable wedge lock member on the attachment plate to secure the mounting plate and bucket to the loader.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a mounting plate that goes onthe back wall of a loader bucket or other loader attachment, and mateswith the standard quick attachment brackets presently used on skid steerloaders and in particular those sold under the trademark BOBCAT. Themounting plate is formed from a single sheet of material, and includesformed channels with walls that extend out from the plane of the bucketfor receiving latching portions of the quick attachment bracket that ismounted onto a loader. The openings provide edge surfaces forpositioning and alignment of the bracket without the need for sidewalls.

[0002] Quick attachment brackets on skid steer loaders are well known.The brackets include a plate that pivotally mounts on the front ends ofarms of a skid steer loader. The plate has a pair of interfitting latchlips that engage a mating recess on a mounting plate or other attachmentand then has latch wedge bars that are moveable into receptacles on theloader mounting plate bucket for locking the bucket onto the attachmentbracket plate. The attachment bracket plate can be used for a widevariety of attachments. The mounting plates used in buckets in the priorart have several piece parts that require welding together, and theplates are not easily standardized for easy modification for differentsized buckets.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The present invention relates to a formed mounting plate thatprovides attachments points for receiving a standard skid steer loaderquick attachment bracket, and which can be easily welded onto the backwall of a bucket or other attachment used with a skid steer loader. Themounting plate is formed from a single sheet of metal, and is contouredto provide outwardly formed reinforcement or strengthening channels thatextend in a direction across the bucket width. The upper channel wallshave channels, openings that will receive the latch lips at the top ofthe quick attachment bracket, and also the lower channel has openingsthat will receive the latch wedges or bars that are moveable to securethe mounting plate and the attached bucket to the quick attachmentbracket.

[0004] The mounting plate is made with a center portion of substantialvertical height to provide space for the latching openings, and haslaterally extending wings at the top that can be trimmed to provide auniversal formed mounting plate that is easily trimmed for buckets ofdifferent widths. The mounting plate is designed to include an openingin the center portion along which welding can take place to minimizedistortions and stresses in the bucket when the mounting plate is weldedin place.

[0005] Additionally, the bucket is constructed with a reinforcing bottomplate immediately behind the bucket cutting blade that extends for thefull width of the bucket and is formed in a series of corrugations orshallow channels to provide reinforcement for the bottom wall of thebucket in a unitarily, formed and easily attached reinforcement plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]FIG. 1 is a side view of a quick attachment bracket shownschematically mounted on loader arms, and connected to a bucket that hasa mounting plate made according to the present invention installedthereon;

[0007]FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of a mounting plate coupled to aquick attachment bracket but without showing bucket;

[0008]FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the mounting plate madeaccording to the present invention installed on a bucket;

[0009]FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the bucket shown in FIG. 3illustrating the mounting plate in position;

[0010]FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the bucket of FIG. 4;

[0011]FIG. 6 is a bottom perspective view from the rear of the bucketwith a mounting plate attached and showing a reinforcing plate on thebottom of the bucket;

[0012]FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the bucket of FIG. 6;

[0013]FIG. 8 is a front perspective view of the mounting plate with thequick attachment bracket shown in position;

[0014]FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of the mounting plate alone;and

[0015]FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of a bucket reinforcingplate.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] In FIG. 1, a loader bucket 10 is shown coupled onto a quickattachment bracket 12 of a standard design, the quick attachment bracket12 is connected to loader arms 14 at a pivot point 16, and the controlof the attachment bracket 12 about the pivot pins or point 16 isaccomplished with a hydraulic actuator 18 connected as at 20 to aportion of the quick attachment bracket. The hydraulic actuator 18 andloader arms are part of a loader 22 that is shown only schematically.

[0017] The quick attachment bracket 12 is a standard bracket, and has,as shown in FIG. 2, has a pair of spaced uprightly projecting latch endsor lips 24, and has upright plates 26 on which moveable latch wedges 28(see FIG. 1) are mounted. These are standard latch wedge operated withlevers shown schematically at 29 and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,562,397, except these are not power operated, and the ends of onelatch bar is shown at 28A in FIG. 1.

[0018] A mounting plate 30 made according to the present invention isattached to a back wall 32 of the bucket 10, and extends laterallybetween the bucket 10 and quick attachment bracket 12 as can be seen inFIG. 3.

[0019] The mounting plate 30 is a single piece of metal formed toinclude a top channel reinforcing portion 34, that is formed with anoutwardly inclined lower wall 36, an upright wall 38 spaced outwardlyfrom the bucket back wall 32, and an inwardly tapered upper wall 40. Theupper edge of the wall 40, as well as a center planar portion 42 of themounting plate 30 can be welded to the back wall 32 of the bucket 10.The lower portion of the mounting plate has a second channel section 44that is formed with an outwardly extending tapered upper wall 46, abovewall 42 and a return or inwardly extending wall 48. This channel extendsfarther outwardly from bucket back wall. The wall 48 has an edge thatrests on the back wall 32 of the bucket also.

[0020] The lower wall 36 and upper wall 38 of channel 34 at the top ofmounting plate are provided with a pair of latch end receiving openings50, which can be punched into the flat plate before it is formed, andwhich are of size to receive the latch ends 24 of the quick attachmentbracket 12. The latch ends are also channel shaped so they mate with theinterior of the channel as the latch ends are moved up through openings50.

[0021] The outwardly tapered wall 46 of the channel 44 at the lower edgeof the mounting plate 30 has apertures 52 that are sized to receive theends 28A of the latch wedges 28, and the wedges 28 wedges against therear edge of openings 52 (see FIG. 1) to hold the mounting plate 30 andthe bucket securely onto quick attachment bracket 12.

[0022] The mounting plate 30 also has outwardly extending wing portions54 on lateral sides thereof, which are tapered up from the main centerplate portion 42 and can be rounded as shown at 56. These wings or ears54 can be trimmed as represented by the dotted line 58 in FIG. 2 fordifferent width buckets.

[0023] When the mounting plate 30 is welded onto the bucket back wall32, the mounting plate is positioned so that the outer edges or sideedges of the openings 50 toward the outside ends of the mounting plate30 are at a known lateral location. The edges are shown at 60 for theright hand opening 50, and 62 for the left hand opening 50 are shown inFIG. 2. The edges 60 and 62 will provide for the lateral positioning ofthe bucket on the quick attachment bracket 12, and specifically thelatch ends 24 as they are placed into the openings 50. The mountingplate is also welded to the bucket back wall along the upper edge ofchamber 34. The lower edge of lower channel 44 is welded to a rearcorner angle 49. As can be seen in FIG. 4, one leg 49A of the cornerangle forms an extension of back wall 32 of the bucket. The corner angle49 extends laterally across the bucket, which is used where the buckethas a rounded corner joining the back and bottom.

[0024] Mounting plate 30 has a center opening, shown at 35 in the planarcenter portion 42, as shown in FIG. 3 for example, that provides edges35A for welding. The outer edges shown at 35B in FIGS. 3 and 6 forexample, can be used for welding as well.

[0025]FIG. 8 illustrates the mounting plate 30 from a front perspectiveview with the latch ends 24 of the quick attachment bracket 12 portionagainst wall portions 43 that extend upwardly from the main wall 42 andoverlie the base of the channel 38. These wall portions are left planarwith wall portion 42 when the openings 50 are punched out, and are leftparallel to the center portion 42 of the back wall when the channels onmounting plate 30 are formed.

[0026] Additionally, as shown in FIG. 4, a bucket bottom wall 66 isjoined to the back wall 32 and is reinforced with a transverselyextending reinforcing plate 70 that extends fully from one end wall 33to the other. The end walls 33 are also joined to the bottom wall. Plate70, as can be seen has a series of shallow channels such as channel 72which open upwardly, and channels 74 which face downwardly. The channels74 have base walls 76 that rest against the bottom wall 66 of thebucket.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 10 the reinforcing plate 70 also has a series ofslots 78 along the length, in the base walls 76 of the channels 74. Theslots 78 are used for welding the reinforcing plate 70 onto the bottomwall 66 of the bucket. The periphery of reinforcing plate 70 is weldedto the bucket bottom wall 66 and the bucket end plates 33 as well.

[0028] The reinforcing plate 70, as can be seen in FIG. 6, extends allthe way across the bottom wall 66 of a bucket between the end plates 33.

[0029] The corrugated or multiple channel plate that extends from end toend on the bucket just behind the cutting blade 80 provides for securereinforcement, and insures that there is no excessive loading on thebottom wall of the bucket, as well as providing a continuous reinforcingstructure all the way across the bucket right behind the cutting blade.

[0030] The construction of the mounting wall, using openings 50 forpositioning permits the removal of edge guide plates of existingmounting for guiding the attachment bracket to align with the mountingplate for the bucket or other attachment. The present mounting alsoreduces the welding costs, and reduces the fabrication time, since it isstamped with one operation after the openings 50 and 52 have beenpunched out. The forming die will leave panels 43 planar with wallportion 42.

[0031] Although the present invention has been described with referenceto preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize thatchanges may be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mounting plate for an attachment for a mountingbracket on a prime mover, said mounting plate comprising a formed platehaving a longitudinal length extending transversely of the attachment, avertical height of size to match the mounting bracket on a prime mover,and a first channel member formed along the longitudinal length at anupper edge of the mounting plate to protrude in a direction toward theattachment bracket, a lower wall of the channel member being providedwith at least one aperture receiving a portion of the mounting bracket,and the mounting plate having a second channel at a lower edge extendingalong the longitudinal length, and having at least one aperture formedin walls of the second channel for receiving a latch wedge bar on themounting bracket.
 2. The mounting plate of claim 1, wherein there aretwo apertures on the first channel member, said apertures having sideedges forming guides for portions of the mounting bracket when themounting bracket portions are received in the apertures.
 3. The mountingplate of claim 2, wherein there are two sets of openings in the secondchannel, said openings being of size to receive two latch wedge barsfrom the mounting bracket on the prime mover.
 4. The mounting plate ofclaim 1, wherein the mounting plate has an opening therein between thefirst and second channels.
 5. The mounting plate of claim 3, whereinupper portions of the mounting plate have wing portions that extendoutwardly laterally beyond the apertures toward each of the side edgesof the mounting plate.
 6. The mounting plate of claim 4, wherein themounting plate comprises a unitary sheet of material.
 7. A loader bucketassembly having a bottom wall, and a rear wall joined to the bottom walland end walls to form a forwardly open bucket, a mounting plate mountedon the rear wall of the bucket, said mounting plate comprising a unitaryplate having a center planar portion fixed to an exterior of the rearwall of the bucket, and having a formed channel at an upper end of themounting plate extending in a direction between the end walls of thebucket, said formed channel having upper and lower walls that are spacedapart and which extend outwardly from the back walls of the bucket, thelower wall of the channel having at least one aperture therein with astraight side edge, said opening being of size to receive a latch end ofa mounting bracket for supporting the bucket on a prime mover.
 8. Thebucket assembly of claim 7, wherein the mounting plate has a secondchannel member at a lower end thereof extending outwardly from the rearwall of the bucket, said second channel member at the lower end havingan upper wall and a lower wall, and apertures passing through both theupper wall and the lower wall and being adapted to receive a latch wedgefrom a mounting bracket on a prime mover.
 9. The bucket assembly ofclaim 7, wherein said bottom wall of the bucket has a forward edge, acutting blade at the forward edge, and a reinforcing plate on theexterior of the bottom wall to the rear of the cutting edge, saidreinforcing plate being a unitary plate that extends from end to end ofthe bucket and forms a plurality of channels with generally planar wallsextending between the channels, some of said planar walls restingagainst an exterior surface of the bottom wall of the bucket, and thereinforcing plate being welded to the bottom wall of the bucket.